Bellator: Will the Promotion Ever Have Strong Brand Recognition?

With Bellator becoming the No. 2 MMA promotion in America, expectations will continue to rise for the upstart company.Formed in 2008, Bellator has created their own niche in the MMA world by continuing to showcase tournament-style events. By winning a …

With Bellator becoming the No. 2 MMA promotion in America, expectations will continue to rise for the upstart company.

Formed in 2008, Bellator has created their own niche in the MMA world by continuing to showcase tournament-style events. By winning a tournament, a fighter could not only guarantee themselves a title shot, but also a $100,000 payday.

Sure, it sounds like a good deal for a fighter, but the promotion has failed to really take off like MMA fans were predicting.

There are many reasons as to why Bellator‘s “brand” isn’t as great as one would expect from a No. 2 promotion.

Bellator certainly isn’t lacking in stars, as fighters like Hector Lombard, Ben Askren, Michael Chandler and the Freire brothers (Patricio and Patricky) are some of the most exciting fighters in MMA.

With stars like the ones just mentioned, one would think they would be the main focus of Bellator‘s endeavors. But this is where Bellator begins to stray from the right path.

Instead of focusing on “homegrown” talent like Askren and Chandler, Bellator often focuses on bringing in former UFC fighters. The promotion brings in the fighters for their name recognition, but they often fail to add anything to the Bellator brand.

While fans recognize the names of these former UFC fighters, fans are often at a loss when discussing Bellator‘s champions.

A preview show that helps promote the fighters would help make Bellator‘s fighters more popular, and build the promotion’s brand as a whole.

Of course, that would require Bellator to be available to the MMA fan.

Although Bellator events tend to be some of the best in MMA, nobody can watch them as they’ve been on channels like ESPN Deportes, FOX Sports Net and MTV. A move to Spike TV should give the promotion some more exposure.

The final move that would help grow Bellator‘s brand is to remove their “champion’s clause.” The contract clause, known by many MMA fans, basically states that a current champion cannot leave the promotion.

Yes, this would help grow Bellator‘s brand at first by being able to lay claim to dominant champions like Lombard, but it actually hurts the promotion in the long run. There’s no question guys like Lombard and Askren are light years ahead of the competition in Bellator.

While it may be fun to watch them dominate a couple times, eventually it will get old watching the same fighters win each time. It may hurt to watch some champions leave, but it would also open up a lot of divisions.

By creating and building their own stars and taking full advantage of their partnership with Spike TV, Bellator can grow their brand into a respectable No. 2.

If they can’t, they will be just another place for former UFC-vets to pad their record to make it back to the big leagues.

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